Underwear

ABSTRACT

A pair of underwear ( 10 ) in which a uni-piece of fabric has a front section ( 11 ), a middle section ( 12 ) and a back section ( 13 ). The middle section ( 12 ) has an insert ( 14 ) with opposed forward ( 16 ) and rearward ( 19 ) ends extending through the crotch area ( 20 ) into the back section ( 13 ) of the underwear. The insert ( 14 ) is fabricated of a cotton, cotton blend or similar comfortable material and extends from the middle of the front section ( 11 ) to the beginning of the back section ( 13 ) for positioning within the crotch area ( 20 ) of the user. The forward end ( 16 ) of the insert ( 14 ) has a unique and novel identifier ( 17 ) to aid the user in proper alignment of a sanitary pad ( 18 ) or incontinence pad. The identifier ( 17 ) is smoothly curved and horizontally extending across the front section ( 11 ).

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to female's underwear. Moreparticularly the invention relates to underwear worn during a women'smenstrual cycle or episodes of urinary incontinence.

Typically, women find an old, unassuming pair of underwear to wearduring their menstrual cycle. Placing a sanitary pad inside theunderwear is a true guessing game and usually requires removing the padand realigning it to ensure coverage of discharge. Placement of asanitary pad or incontinence pad actually becomes a science of position.Where should it go? If it is placed too high, leakage may occur in theback part of the underwear. If is placed too far back, too low, leakagemay occur in the front part of the underwear. Removing the pad, usuallyaffects the adherence of the sticky tape which can lead to the padsticking to itself, bunching up in the users underwear, or the inabilityto re-adhere to the underwear. In these situations, the user has tostart over and use a new pad which can lead to economical hardship ifthe user has to continuously purchase a new package of sanitary pads.

A drawback of conventional women's underwear is the lack of addressingissues related to placement of a sanitary pad during a women's menstrualcycle. Currently, market selection does not provide any options toassist women. Trial and error is the present solution to this monthlyevent in a women's life. With the underwear currently available, thepotential of drainage reaching to the outer surface of the user's pantsis high, thereby causing embarrassment, discomfort, a feeling ofwetness, and thoughts that everyone will notice.

A second drawback of conventional women's underwear is properlyidentifying which way is front or back. Often times, the underwear isvery uniform and identification of the front versus back is done by thelabel in the back of the underwear. The new wave of label marking is viairon-on labels. These iron-on labels can eventually wear off makingidentification more challenging than before. Prior to putting on a pairof underwear, the user usually has to hold up the underwear to identifythe front of the underwear.

The present invention recognizes and addresses various drawbacks ofprior art constructions and methods. Accordingly, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a novel, non-obvious, unique and differentwomen's underwear that reduces the likelihood of menstrual leakage tothe outer surface of the user's pants.

The present invention has been accomplished to provide a pair ofunderwear, which eliminates the guessing game for placement of asanitary pad or incontinence pad. It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a pair of underwear for women, which givescomfortable wear.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pair ofunderwear for women, which provides young ladies going through puberty aunique tool to guide them in properly positioning a sanitary pad whichwill make them feel more secure and comfortable.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pair ofunderwear for women, which provides a color coded identifier for varioussizes of sanitary pads. This color coded identifier correlates with thecolored packaging of the different sizes of popular, commerciallyavailable sanitary pads.

An even further object of the present invention to provide a pair ofunderwear for women, which allows easy removal of a used pad and quick,uncomplicated, proper positioning of a new pad.

Even still another object of the present invention to provide a pair ofunderwear for women, which gives a simple guideline for all females,including those with special needs, physical, mental, or cognitivedisabilities. Visually impaired females can feel for the identifierinside of the underwear.

An even still further object of the present invention to provide a pairof underwear for women, which circumvents the question of “Which way isthe front?” With the identifier placed in the front section, thiseliminates any contemplation regarding this question. This willparticularly enhance independence in those with special needs, physical,mental or cognitive disabilities and visual impairments as they caneasily identify which direction is front.

Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pair ofunderwear for women, which provides an ideal option for thosehospitalized, living at skilled nursing homes, and/or rehabilitationcenters.

Personal hygiene is a major part of Activities of Daily Living (ADL's).This life skill is taught early in one's life. As a young ladyapproaches the onset of her menstrual cycle, which is occurring as earlyas age 10 or 11, she is wondering what will happen, what to expect, howto deal with it, or maybe she is still wanting to go outside to playwith her friends. Either way, her menstrual cycle will happen. At thisage, development of self identity is taking shape. All females want tohave a feeling of cleanliness, especially during that time of the month.Reducing, if not eliminating accidental leaks is what this presentinvention recognizes and addresses.

Discussing the changes that females are going thru during thistransition is essential. Many times, females do not have anyone to reachout to and discuss vital issues like this. The education system may be aperson's only resource especially if one does not have a parent, or isbeing raised by a single father, or parents may not know how to talkwith their daughter about this subject. Many parents are not comfortablediscussing this issue. This invention realizes this short coming andcould be an avenue to openly discuss such an important time in a women'slife.

Moreover, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need fora novel, non-obvious, unique and improved comfortable pair of underwearwhich can be used for proper securement of a sanitary pad orincontinence pad.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood, and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course,additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

The present invention provides underwear having a torso encirclingportion, which is bounded at the top with an elastic waistband. Theencircled portion is secured at the sides with a sewn stitch or Velcro(Registered Trade Mark) type material. At the hip region, the torsoportion is divided into a left leg section and a right leg sectionforming a crotch area between the legs. Elastic encompasses the rightand left leg sections. A horizontally positioned semi-circle or curvedguideline is defined at the middle part of the front section to aid theuser in properly positioning a sanitary pad or incontinence pad.

Other objects, features and aspects of the present invention areachieved by various combinations and subcombinations of the disclosedelements, which are discussed in greater detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those setforth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the conformablepair of underwear constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing the item of FIG. 1 in combinationwith a sanitary pad.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed plan view of the combination of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a front inside section and a front innerinsert for a pair of underwear according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of underwear according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate form of the underwearaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference is made in detail to presently preferred embodiments of thenew and improved comfortable pair of underwear, one or more examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example isprovided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of theinvention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the scope or spirit thereof. For example,features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be usedon another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment.

Referring to the drawings there is shown an item of underwear 10comprising a front section 11, a back section 13, which are connected toprovide a waist part 21 and a crotch area 20, the crotch area 20extending from front to back in use between a wearer's legs. The front11 and back 13 sections provide openings 25, 26 for the user's legs. Themiddle section 12 is companioned by an elongate insert 14, with theattached identifier 17, of overlapping material extending from the front11 and back 13 sections through the middle section 12.

One of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the insert 14with the attached identifier 17 should be sufficient to ensure properplacement of a sanitary pad 18. It should also be appreciated therecould also be multiple identifiers 17 at various levels to increase theusability of underwear 10.

In order to properly maintain the positioning of a sanitary pad 18,underwear 10 has an insert 14 as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Insert 14curved horizontally extends across front section 11 from one thighregion 15 to the other thigh region 27, right and left respectfully,through middle section 12 into back section 13. Attached to the forwardend 16 of insert 14 is the identifier 17. Insert 14 is a second piece offabric attached to the inner aspect of underwear 10. Instead of using aline as shown in FIG. 3, identifier 17 may be formed by letters (such asa word), numerals, symbols and the like. For example, the size of thesanitary pad, overnight or regular, or a future proposed trademark couldbe used to form identifier 17 as seen in FIG. 4.

In accordance with the invention there is provided an inside liningpart, the insert 14 which completely or substantially covers the crotcharea 20 and extends to the front 11 and back 13 sections, where ends offorward end 16 of insert 14 is connected by a line of stitching, to theidentifier 17 and rearward end 19 is unattached to back section 13. Theinsert 14 has sides 24, 28 which extend front to back and which areconfigured generally to conform to the shapes of the usuallyelasticized, sides of the middle section 12 and may extend outwardlybeyond the ends of the crotch area 20. Identifier 17 is connected by aline of stitching to the front section 11. The sides 24, 28 of insert 14are also connected by stitching to the middle section 12 of theunderwear 10. Along with attached insert 14, the thigh regions 15, 27are elasticized 22.

In this example, the insert 14 is made of cotton, a cotton blendmaterial or a similar comfortable material, but may be made of anothermaterial which absorbs any potential discharge, leakage of fluid fromuser's menstrual cycle or urine due to incontinence. Additionally,insert 14 may consist of extra padding to add extra protection againstaccidental leaks.

Referring particularly to FIG. 3 (image is magnified to show detail),the attached sanitary pad 18, is placed for optimal positioning directlyunderneath the designated identifier 17 guide line.

Identifier 17 is formed from sewn in piping tube, decorative stitching,bias tape, any type of markings, stains, drawings, imbedded markings,markings requiring an iron, and/or fabricated material. Identifier 17 isnot limited to the aforementioned markings. Identifier 17 does notpresent unsightly or unattractive lines in any outer garment clothing asit is positioned on the inside of underwear 10. The stitching foridentifier 17, on the outside of underwear 10, is a decorative curvedstitch extending horizontally across front section 11 from one thighregion 15 to the other thigh region 27, right and left respectfully.

Identifier 17 piping tube is made of a soft, flexible white cordenclosed in a comfortable cotton material. Enclosure keeps piping inplace with a standard straight sewn in stitch.

Identifier 17 is color coded for various sizes of sanitary pads thuscorrelating with the colored packaging of the different sizes ofpopularly used and commercially available sanitary pads. For example, anorange identifier for overnight sized sanitary pads.

Per user's preference, underwear 10 may be utilized with sanitary padsthat have side wings and those without side wings and/or maxi sanitarypads or thin sanitary pads.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, instead of the sides 23, 29 of the front section 11being stitched together on the inside, a Velcro (Registered Trade Mark)type material may close the sides 23, 29 to provide effortlessnessduring dressing or removing underwear 10. Thereby, promoting convenienceand ease of usage for those infirmed, physically, mentally orcognitively challenged. Healthcare providers will find this modificationimmense as it will help employees to situate undergarments on patients.

Referring to FIG. 6, part of a modified item of underwear (10) isillustrated. Similar parts to these in the preceding figures are labeledwith the same reference numbers, with brackets ( ) added.

In addition to identifier (17), a second (30) or third identifier (31)may extend horizontally curved across front section (11) from one thighregion (15) to the other thigh region (27), right and left respectfully.Identifier (30) provides a guide line located approximately one-fourthto one-half of an inch lower than identifier (17) for placement of aregular sized sanitary pad. Identifier (31) provides a guide linelocated lower in underwear (10) in the middle section (12) for purposesof a smaller pantiliner type sanitary pad. Identifiers (30) and (31)will be a different color than identifier (17) and will correspond tocommonly worn, commercially available, sanitary pads. Identifiers (30)and (31) will be formed from sewn in piping tube, decorative stitching,bias tape, any type of markings, stains, drawings, imbedded markings,markings requiring an iron, and/or fabricated material. The rearward end(19) of the insert (14) may include a separate identifier (32) as well.Identifiers (30), (31) and (32) are not limited to the aforementionedmarkings.

Although the invention has been described particularly for use by womenduring menstruation, the invention may be used by an incontinent personfor example. In any event, the item of underwear 10 may be worn with orwithout the sanitary pad 18.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and themanner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent andobvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships tothose illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

1. A comfortable fitting pair of underwear for a female, said underwearcomprising: a uniform piece of material formed to define a frontsection, a middle section, a back section, an open waist part forreceiving a torso and two open thigh regions for receiving legs, saidmiddle section includes an insert naturally aligned to the mid part ofthe front section, extending through the crotch area into the backsection; a unique and novel identifier is attached to said forward endof the insert; an elastic band bound along the top of said waist bandand said thigh regions.
 2. The claim as recited in claim 1, wherein saididentifier is attached to the insert which extends over the mid part ofthe front section through the entirety of the crotch area ending in theback section of the underwear.
 3. The claim as recited in claim 1,wherein the crotch area includes crotch area sides, and the insideinsert part includes ends in addition to the sides, the sides beingshaped to conform generally to the crotch area sides but not outwardlybeyond the crotch area sides, the inside insert part being attached tothe item of underwear along the side portion of the crotch.
 4. The claimas recited in claim 1, wherein said identifier is attached to theforward end and/or backward end of said insert.
 5. The claim as recitedin claim 1, wherein said identifier is formed from sewn in piping tube,decorative stitching, bias tape, any type of markings, stains, drawings,imbedded markings, markings requiring an iron, and/or fabricatedmaterial.
 6. The claim as recited in claim 1, wherein said front andback section are attached at the sides of the hip by machine stitch orVelcro (Registered Trade Mark) type material.
 7. The claim as recited inclaim 2, wherein said insert is an inside lining part formed from thesame or similar type of material as said piece of material.
 8. The claimas recited in claim 2, wherein said insert is being formed on said backsurface of said piece of material.
 9. The claim as recited in claim 5,wherein said identifier has a semi circle shape or curved shapehorizontally placed over mid part of front section.
 10. The claim asrecited in claim 5, wherein there is at least one said identifier infront section.